It’s time to rally round… Whether it’s a huge Stars and Stripes flapping on the porch, or just a lapel pin, find a way to mark a unique day in a unique nation.
Pay some respect to this notable national flag of the United States of America on National Flag Day!
National Flag Day Timeline
Chaco Canyon Flourishes
Ancestral Puebloan peoples construct monumental great houses, kivas, and roads at Chaco Canyon, creating a major cultural and ceremonial center in what is now northwestern New Mexico.
Founding of Santa Fe
Spanish authorities establish Santa Fe as the capital of the province of New Mexico, making it one of the oldest continuously occupied European‑founded capitals in what would become the United States.
New Mexico Becomes Part of Independent Mexico
With Mexico’s independence from Spain, the province of New Mexico passes from Spanish to Mexican control, and trade along the Santa Fe Trail begins to reshape the region’s economy.
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
Mexico cedes most of the territory that will become the U.S. state of New Mexico to the United States, reshaping the region’s political boundaries while leaving deep Hispanic and Indigenous cultural roots.
Gadsden Purchase Sets Southern Border
The United States buys a strip of land from Mexico in the Gadsden Purchase, adding parts of present-day southern New Mexico and helping define the state’s modern southern boundary.
How to Celebrate National Flag Day
Show some support for the meaning of the US Flag by celebrating National Flag Day with a variety of activities, including some of these:
Display an American Flag
One of the most important things to do on National Flag Day is to show a bit of American pride by flying a flag. Hang it on a pole on the outside of the house, raise one up a flag pole or place one on the desk at the office.
This is a great time to show a bit of patriotism and loyalty to the fifty white stars and thirteen red and white stripes. But remember, to adhere to the US Flag Code, if a flag is flown outside, it should be raised in the morning and taken down at sunset each day.
Visit the Betsy Ross House
The story goes that a woman named Elizabeth Griscom Ross, who was a seamstress for George Washington, was the person who made the first flag, commissioned by the president and two of his colleagues.
The legend has been passed down through the Ross family for more than two centuries. Tourists can head over to the Betsy Ross House, located in the Old City neighborhood of Philadelphia, to take a tour of the place and learn more about the history of Old Glory.
Try Making Some American Flags
One interesting activity to enjoy in celebration of National Flag Day might be to get creative with some stars and stripes of your own.
A variety of mediums could be employed, from watercolor or acrylic paints to crochet or knitting with yarn, it’s fun to see what ways a flag can take shape.
Parents and teachers can help school aged children or preschoolers using popsicle sticks, perler beads, paper plates or other crafting materials. Or just keep it simple with some white paper and some crayons or colored pencils. National Flag Day has never been so much fun!
History of National Flag Day
This important day can trace its roots back more than 100 years when United States President Woodrow Wilson, on May 30, 1916, issued a presidential proclamation declaring June 14 to be National Flag Day.
Honoring the flag that now bears fifty stars and thirteen stripes, this day commemorates the day in 1777 when the approval for the first national flag was made. Though National Flag Day is not an official federal or government holiday, it is still an important time to celebrate.
Of course, the flag has gone through a few different iterations over the years. Originally containing thirteen stars and thirteen stripes, as the country grew, the flag changed. The most recent change was on July 4, 1960, when two more stars were added to celebrate the addition of two new states to the union: Alaska and Hawaii.
While the Fourth of July has become an all-around celebration of the birthday of America, National Flag Day has kept more of a local character, with traditions rooted in the township or the county, the city or the state capital. And much more than for family festivals, it feels right to be celebrating it with your team, club or class.
Every year, people are invited to discover their inner Betsy Ross and make their own versions of Old Glory, in everything from stained glass to potato prints to rows of flowers.
The men who adopted the first flag, way back in 1777, could hardly have imagined it. Three cheers for all things red, white and blue with stars and stripes on National Flag Day!
Facts About National Flag Day
Gypsum Dunes That Behave Like No Other Sand
White Sands National Park in southern New Mexico contains the largest gypsum dune field on Earth, covering about 275 square miles.
Unlike most gypsum, which usually dissolves and washes away, the mineral here is trapped in the closed Tularosa Basin, where it breaks down into white sand that can move in dunes yet stays cool enough to walk on barefoot even under intense desert sun.
Where the Continent Is Slowly Tearing Apart
Much of New Mexico sits atop the Rio Grande Rift, a zone where the North American continent is gradually stretching and thinning.
This rifting began tens of millions of years ago and created a chain of basins and mountain ranges that cradle the Rio Grande, shaping fertile valley floors, surrounding mesas, and the location of major cities such as Albuquerque and Las Cruces.
High Desert With Alpine Peaks
Although New Mexico is often imagined as low, flat desert, its elevation ranges from about 2,850 feet at Red Bluff Reservoir to 13,161 feet at Wheeler Peak in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
This vertical spread produces everything from arid basins to true alpine conditions, with snowpack in the mountains feeding rivers and reservoirs that support communities and agriculture downstream.
Living Legacy of the Pueblo Peoples
New Mexico is home to 19 distinct Pueblo communities whose ancestors have lived in the region for thousands of years, practicing settled agriculture long before European contact.
These Pueblos developed complex irrigation systems, multi-story masonry dwellings, and enduring cultural and religious traditions that still shape the state’s identity today.
A Coordinated Revolt That Reshaped the Southwest
In 1680, Pueblo leaders across a vast area of present-day New Mexico organized a coordinated uprising against Spanish colonial rule, driving colonists out of the region for more than a decade.
Known as the Pueblo Revolt, it is one of the most successful Indigenous uprisings in North American history and forced Spain to modify its policies when it reasserted control in the 1690s.
From Secret Wartime Lab to Supercomputing Powerhouse
Los Alamos in northern New Mexico began as a secluded World War II laboratory charged with designing the first atomic bombs.
Today Los Alamos National Laboratory hosts some of the world’s most powerful supercomputers and conducts research on topics ranging from nuclear security and materials science to climate modeling and astrophysics, making the small state a major node in global science.
A World Capital of Radio Astronomy
On New Mexico’s remote Plains of San Agustin, the Very Large Array (VLA) uses 27 radio antennas arranged in a giant Y-shaped configuration to study the universe.
By combining signals from dishes spread up to 22 miles apart, the VLA acts like a single enormous telescope, helping astronomers investigate black holes, star formation, and distant galaxies from the quiet radio skies of the high desert.
